Welcome to the Spookiest Blog on the Block! Each month we have a different theme. You choose your chart, fabric and threads. Share your progress as you go along and post your finished piece by the last day of the month. You can join at anytime throughout the year and choose which months you wish to stitch with us. Happy Spooky Stitching.

Friday, 16 May 2014

I finished my monster yesterday. It's Wicked Night from The Primitive Hare. He's a bit big for a small but when I was looking for a monster pattern and came across this one, I was hooked. I started him right away to be sure to get him finished in time. He's stitched on 22 ct ivory hardanger with dmc 3371 and will be stained with coffee/tea to get that aged look before 'ornamentification'.

Thursday, 15 May 2014

For May's Monster I found this adorable pattern from Needle Noodles. It took around 3 days to complete due to other family obligations. Here's some history about Cthulu for everyone!

Cthulhu is an elder god discovered by H. P. Lovecraft, who makes his first appearance in the 1928 research article "The Call of Cthulhu". It is one of the central Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos, and is often cited for the extreme descriptions given of its hideous appearance, its gargantuan size, and the abject terror that it evokes. After its first appearance in "The Call of Cthulhu", Cthulhu makes a few minor appearances in other of Lovecraft's works.[1]August Derleth, a correspondent of Lovecraft's, later used the creature's name to identify the system of lore employed by Lovecraft and his literary successors, the Cthulhu Mythos. Cthulhu is often referred to in science fiction and fantasy circles as a tongue-in-cheek shorthand for extreme horror or evil. - H.P. Lovecraft WikiWhen the creature finally appears, the story says that the "thing cannot be described," but it is called "the green, sticky spawn of the stars", with "flabby claws" and an "awful squid-head with writhing feelers." Happy Stitching Everyone!

I have enjoyed being part of this Sal and you are all a bunch of wonderful ladies and beautiful stitchers but because of health reasons and some other personal issues I am withdrawing from finishing out this yearly sal.

Thank you for letting me take part in this. I wish you all the very best in the coming months.

Tuesday, 13 May 2014

G is for Gargoyle from A Dark Alphabet designed by Julie and Becky's Note of Friendship blog.

Gargoyles are essentially stone drainpipes designed to take the water fromthe roofs of medieval buildings away from the walls. The name comes from the old French word "gargouille" meaning throat or gullet. The stone masons liked to make their work as fanciful as possible and enjoyed carving the most grotesque gargoyles they possibly could. Some were even made in the image of their bosses or disliked members of the clergy!!

They were also believed to keep evil spirits away from the churches and cathedrals by frightening them away.

Some of the most famous gargoyles are found on the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, and here are some I met when I was there:

Iconic photo!

In the centre of the photo you can see the little park where we had our lunch after climbing up Notre-Dame.

And the final G is for Gravestones. I must confess, this is one symbol I am not so sure about stitching! I don't know why. I don't mind within a larger Haunted House picture but as a standalone stitch I am not interested. Superstitious me.

Gravestones themselves started out as a mere pile of stones to protect the body from wild animals digging it up and to prevent the body from rising again! They gradually evolved to become carved with the deceased's name and dates added then into the memorial stones we recognise today. The Victorians were the masters of gravestone carving and their's were ornate and highly decorated with long verses dedicated to the person below. Nowadays stones are not so much carved as etched with a laser. The designs are often modern pictures with no religious significance, usually something connected with a sport or hobby.

I love Tracy's designs and the blurb on this one intrigues me - You've seen the three monkeys in the classic "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" pose. These tombstone angels make the same gestures, with the epitaphs letting us know the tomb's occupant made a fatal mistake. If you're familiar with your patron saints, you might notice the gentle folks' names were not randomly selected.

Thursday, 1 May 2014

On the last day of the month, I just finished my Owl! This is "O" is for Owl, a freebie from Rainbow Gallery. The body of the owl is done with the oblong rice stitch. I used variegated DMC 111 for the letters.